Marijuana & Legalization

8/22/19--As part of a broader company rollout, supermarkets in The Kroger Co.’s Houston division have begun the sale of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) topical products. Kroger said yesterday that CBD lotions, balms, oils and creams are now on shelves at 88 stores in Houston and the surrounding area, as well as online via the Ship.Kroger.com direct-to-customer service and the retailer’s Vitacost.com e-commerce unit. Read

8/19/19--In the United States where marijuana is legal, traditional drug dealers are still formidable competitors. The black market will also loom large for investors. The U.S. marijuana market is huge, yet it still remains to be seen how much business remains in the hands of illegal dealers. Read

8/12/19--The chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who last month filed legislation to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begin repairing the harms of prohibition enforcement, authored a message to NORML's email list on Monday asking the advocacy group's supporters to write their own members of Congress in support of his bill, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. Read

8/12/19--A University of Minnesota study examined whether eating high-fat foods after taking CBD increased the body’s absorption of CBD. The study tested whether fasting or a high fat meal has an effect when cannabidiol oral capsules were taken by patients. The study found CBD exposure is vastly increased when CBD is taken with high fatty foods;
when compared to fasting, taking CBD with food increased the amount of CBD in the body by four-times and the maximum amount recorded in the participants’ blood by 14-times. Read

8/12/19--After a bill to commercialize the drug and put pot shops on every corner passed the House, state senators killed the bill over concerns about public safety and health in New Mexico. Yet, Big Marijuana and its backers refuse to give up on so much lost profit, as evidenced by the convening of the Governor’s Working Group on Cannabis Legalization this week. Read

Marijuana & Health

9/2/19--Results from a study examining the unique and interactive effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and days using alcohol, opioids, and marijuana on PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior indicate suggest marijuana, especially for military personnel experiencing elevated PTSD symptoms may negatively impact suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results are relevant to suggestions that medical marijuana could be used in treating or augmenting treatment for PTSD. Read

8/20/19--The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the sudden emergence of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 14 states. Ninety-four possible cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping were reported from the end of June to Aug. 15, the CDC reported on Saturday. Thirty of those cases were in Wisconsin alone. Other states that appear to be especially affected are Illinois, California, New York, Indiana and New Jersey. Read

8/20/19--Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report. Read

8/21/19--Using the largest database of real-time recordings of the effects of common and commercially available cannabis products in the United States, researchers found strong evidence that cannabis can significantly alleviate pain, with the average user experiencing a three-point drop in pain suffering on a 0-10 point scale immediately following cannabis consumption. Read

Marijuana & Safety

8/21/19--The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it is seeking public input on 10 pesticide applications for hemp. The pesticides under consideration are already approved for use on other crops, but that approval does not yet extend to hemp. In a draft notice set to be published in the Federal Register, EPA said providing hemp farmers with this tool “will likely be essential to supporting the success of this industry going forward.” Read

3/20/19--The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the crash in Crozet, Virginia, was the truck driver’s decision to enter an active grade crossing and his inaction when he encountered obstacles while attempting to cross the railroad tracks, most likely due to his impairment from the combined effects of the drugs marijuana and gabapentin. Read

1/24/19--Researchers want to know more about how pot farms affect air quality. One study, for instance, suggested that more than 600 indoor pot farms in Denver could be worsening the city's air pollution. Next month, Colorado officials will launch one of the largest studies to date of pot farm emissions. Those findings could also aid regulators across the nation, who face a dearth of data as they try to evaluate the pot industry's potential effects on indoor and outdoor air quality as well as worker health. Read

1/9/19--Driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) is a public health concern among those using medical cannabis. Understanding behaviors contributing to DUIC can inform prevention efforts. A recent study evaluated three past 6-month DUIC behaviors among medical cannabis users with chronic pain. With more research needed on how to best measure DUIC, prevention messaging for DUIC may be enhanced by addressing alcohol co-consumption. Read

11/20/18--NASA has ordered a safety review of Boeing and SpaceX, the two companies it has hired to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. A months-long assessment would involve hundreds of interviews designed to assess the culture of the workplaces. The review was prompted by the recent behavior of SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk after he took a hit of marijuana and sipped whiskey on a podcast streamed on the Internet. Read

Marijuana & Commerce

9/6/19--Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought marijuana seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market, according to internal company documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg and four sources directly familiar with the matter. Read

8/22/19--About a half hour south of Albany, Curaleaf is a facility that has thousands of plants that will eventually be converted into prescription medicine for cancer and AIDs patients, as well as those who suffer from seizures and other severe illnesses. The company says it's pleased with the pace New York has been on to expand the program to other illnesses. Read

8/11/19--According to The Motley Fool writer Keith Speights, Aphria and Charlotte's Web are both good stocks; however, Aphria is an underrated underdog that could be a big winner over the long run, in his view. Charlotte's Web's market share is still under $900 million, but Speights believes it could double over the next few years as the U.S. hemp CBD market shifts into high gear. Read

8/2/19--As states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, some states require pre-approval by government of pot advertising. Billboard operators say prior approval has not caused problems; some managers appreciate the government sign-off. Read

Marijuana & Culture

8/22/19--Ziggy Marley started smoking marijuana at the age of nine. The 50-year-old musician "can't even remember" when he had his first puff of the psychoactive drug but he knows he was "too young" to dabble with marijuana and only did it because his father Bob Marley encouraged him to do so as part of their religion. Read

7/11/19--Federal marijuana reform found broad bipartisan support Wednesday on Capitol Hill during a first-of-its-kind hearing held by members of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing marked the first time Congress has specifically convened to consider ending marijuana prohibition since federally outlawing pot decades earlier. Read

7/10/19--Members of a key congressional committee convened for a first-ever hearing on ending marijuana prohibition on Wednesday, engaging in informed conversations about the issue that largely embraced evidence and avoided resorting to fear mongering, demonstrating a broad consensus that major marijuana reforms are needed. During this hearing, there was some disagreement and debate over what reform legislation should look like and the best strategy to advance it. Read

7/5/19--American views on marijuana have shifted incredibly rapidly. In 1988, only 24 percent of Americans supported legalization, but by 2018, 66 percent of U.S. residents offered their approval. Many state laws have changed as well. Over the last quarter-century, 10 states have legalized recreational marijuana, while 22 states have legalized medical marijuana. Read

6/14/19--Next week, the two key committees will hold hearings on various aspects of federal marijuana policy. The first will be held on Wednesday, June 19th, in the Small Business Committee, entitled Unlocked Potential? Small Businesses in the Cannabis Industry. The second hearing is to be held on Thursday, June 20th, in the Veterans Affairs Committee to discuss various bills that are pending regarding medical cannabis programs and veterans access. Read

Marijuana & Enforcement

9/6/19--Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought marijuana seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market, according to internal company documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg and four sources directly familiar with the matter. Read

8/12/19--Because marijuana and hemp are both from the cannabis plant and smell identical, dogs can’t tell the difference, so both the Ohio Highway Patrol and the Columbus Division of Police are suspending marijuana-detection training for new police dogs to uncomplicate probable cause issues in court. Read

8/7/19--According to an article published in the New York Post, a connection between increasing marijuana use, mental illness, and the recent spate of mass shootings by disturbed young males cannot be ruled out. Just last year, the Parents Opposed to Pot lobby group tried to sound the alarm on the link between marijuana and mass shootings, compiling a list of mass killers it claims were heavy users of marijuana from a young age. Read

3/8/19--A lot of people, including U.S. senators, are picking up on the sentencing disparity that exists between repeatedly defraud financial institutions and the government versus non-violent marijuana offenses and the illegal possession of marijuana in a prohibition state. Read

12/7/18--A study recently published in The Economic Journal found that after medical marijuana was legalized in California, violent crime fell 15 percent. Yet, authorities in California’s Emerald Triangle, say that ever since California’s 1996 medical-marijuana initiative, violent crime in Humboldt, in particular, has increased. According to Ben Filippini, a deputy sheriff in this jurisdiction, "All legalization did here was create a safe haven for criminals.” Read